The Győr Audi Plant Could Also Face Closure. The Tisza Government Should Not Play with Fire

The Tisza government should not “play with fire” by turning its back on eastern investors, the article argues. With the international environment looking increasingly difficult, it says the government would be better off preserving the model built under Viktor Orbán, known as economic neutrality and open to investment from the East.

Hungary, the article says, has an interest in attracting developments from every part of the world. Yet the government led by Péter Magyar appears to take a different view. Magyar Nemzet reported on how Hungary’s changing position is being described in China, including an analysis headlined: “Hungary has set a trap for Chinese companies.”

According to that analysis, the regulatory environment for Chinese companies changed fundamentally after the April parliamentary election. Under the previous government, companies from the Far East encountered more favorable rules. The new authorities are described as less cooperative, and the situation in Hungary is presented as a warning for Chinese companies seeking to expand in Europe.

The article points to battery plants, which it says Tisza has regularly portrayed as environmentally polluting facilities. Chinese carmakers have also come under pressure. BYD’s plant being built in Szeged is facing problems, and the government announced an investigation into the Hungarian project five days after Péter Szijjártó joined BYD.

The piece also says more Western corporations are entering difficult circumstances, particularly in Europe’s automotive industry. In that environment, it argues, Magyar and his government risk harming Hungary’s interests if they fail to value eastern investors. It says maintaining relations with the regions targeted by the eastern-opening policy is important because future global growth is expected to come from China, India, Central Asia and the ASEAN region.

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Hungary has set a trap for Chinese companies.